Abstract
Anthropological tests of patch choice models from optimal foraging theory have primarily employed acquisition rates as the currency of the model. Where foragers share their returns, acquisition rates may not be similar to consumption rates and thus may not be an appropriate currency to use when modeling foraging decisions. Indeed, on Ifaluk Atoll the distribution patterns of fish vary by fishing method and location. Previous analyses of Ifaluk patch choice decisions suggested that if Ifaluk fishers are trying to maximize their production rates they should rarely torch fish for dogtoothed tuna. However, some men do spend considerable time and energy exploiting the dogtoothed tuna patch. To improve our understanding of the constraints and motivations influencing men’s decisions to exploit this patch, here I use per capita consumption rates as a currency, rather than production rates, to evaluate predictions generated from a patch choice model. Results indicate that although fish caught in other patches are more widely distributed than fish caught in the dogtoothed tuna patch, the consumption rates of torch fishers and their kin are still considerably lower than the consumption rates of men pursuing fish in other patches. Although these results are unable to explain why Ifaluk men exploit the dogtoothed tuna patch, an important explanatory hypothesis is eliminated.
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The National Science Foundation (SBR9423070), L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, UNM Office of Graduate Studies, and UNM Department of Anthropology generously supported this project.
Richard Sosis is an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Connecticut. In addition to continuing analyses of Ifaluk foraging decisions, his current research interests include utopian societies and the behavioral ecology of religion. In collaboration with Bradley Ruffle (Ben Gurion University) he is currently investigating the impact of privatization and religiosity on intra-group trust within Israeli kibbutzim.
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Sosis, R. Sharing, consumption, and patch choice on Ifaluk atoll. Hum Nat 12, 221–245 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-001-1008-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-001-1008-8